Guardian Angel
by NikkieSheepie
Summary: Every now and then even the best people need a helping hand, occasionally things go a little further, from a helping hand to Guardian Angels - 1st McFly fic
1. A Quiet Night Out

**A/N:** Hello again. I've been absent for a long time, from both writing and uploading but I'm back, at least for a while.  
>I've decided to move away from my old haunt of Torchwood and Dr Who and move into McFly. I've got no idea how well this is going to go but still, wish me luck, and I hope you enjoy my story, <strong><em>Guardian Angel<em>**

NikkieSheepie

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><p><strong><span>Guardian Angel<span>**

A Quiet Night Out

Lucy needed some air, she slipped out the back of the club via one of the secondary exits. Not many people knew about this route out of the club which was handy when you needed to leave in a hurry or wanted some air away from the main selection of smokers. Unfortunately, unlike the main entrance, this door led to a dingy alleyway which smelt of piss and rotting rubbish. Lucy rubbed her arms, thinking how stupid she was to go outside without her jacket. 1.30 am on a November night, who'd have thought it would be cold? She hopped up and down on the spot for a few seconds, sucking in a few lungful's of cold air, wincing as she realised that the jumping was also bad idea as her high heels had given her monster blisters.

Gingerly she walked back to the door, Lucy paused as she heard voices coming towards her. Catching the angry tone she decided not to meet the men she could hear leaving the club head on, but slip behind an industrial sized bin for a few minutes until they passed her by.

"…spilling my drink, this suit cost more then you're worth _mate_"  
>"You think you're all that, just coz you're in a band…"<p>

"Who'd you think you are bossing us around..?"

"Guys, honestly, I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh really, what did you mean it like then?"

"Can't we just talk about this?"

Lucy poked her head around the side of the bin, three guys where forcing a fourth into the alleyway. 'Typical men, always got to fight things out.' She thought to herself.

"Look, I really don't want any trouble guys. I'll buy you a round of drinks yeah?"

"You really think that's going to fix this?"

"I kinda hoped it would, yeah."

One of the men slammed his fist into the stomach of the man they were confronting, knocking the wind out of him. Moments later his two companions joined in, kicking and punching the man as he fell to the floor. Lucy moved back behind the bin, the last thing she needed was to be caught witnessing the attack, she'd only end up being a victim herself.

A few minutes later and the attack seemed to have stopped, the man groaned quietly while his attackers spoke in whispers, debating what to do next.

"We can't just leave him here, someone'll find him and not many people use that exit. They'll trace us for sure."

"He's right, we gotta hide him."

There was a pause while the three men considered their options. "Help me shift him."

The three men groaned quietly as they strained to move the fourth, a loud thunk followed their efforts then everything fell silent.

Lucy counted to 60 before looking around the side of the bin. Seeing no sign of anyone she stood up and walked down the alley, looking for the man who had been attacked. Unable to see him she moved slowly back towards the club but stopped short as she heard a noise from behind her, only a slight noise but still, there was definitely something…

"Hello?" Lucy said quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of too many people nearby. There was no reply. "Is there someone there?" this time she could have sworn she heard something rustle. Was that a reply? Or a stray cat? Lucy dithered for a moment but jumped out of her skin as a loud bang echoed around the small alley.

"Shit." Lucy panted, her hand on her chest to try and keep her heart from jumping out of her ribcage. Just as she got her breathing under control another bang resounded around the small space. This time Lucy recovered faster, "Hello? Is someone there?" another bang answered her question.


	2. Up and Over

**A/N:** Just a quick note.  
>Firstly, I will apologise in advance for the potentially random update intervals. I'm soon to head back to university which will severely curb my writing time, add to that a medical problem which limits the time I can spend on the computer which has been getting worse recently and you can hopefully understand my reasoning. That being said, I will try my hardest to update reasonably regularly. :)<br>Secondly, I have found myself in possession of a spare pair of tickets for one of the upcoming McFly gigs which I need to sell on. If you're interested please send me a message and we can talk in more detail.

Enjoy, NikkieSheepie

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><p><strong>Guardian Angel<strong>

Up and Over

Lucy pushed the lid of the industrial bin up, flipping it to lean against the wall before climbing up onto the wheel to get a better view inside the bin. "Oh shit!" The man she'd seen earlier was lying on top of the pile of black bin bags. He looked up briefly a small smile on his face before resting his head back down on the sacks below him. "I'll get some help."

Lucy jumped down off the wheel of the bin and ran towards the club door making a beeline for the nearest bouncer. "Hey, you gotta help me. There's a guy outside who's been beat up." She blurted as she grabbed her arm and tried to pull him towards the door.

"Get off me or I'll have you thrown out!" replied the bouncer, pulling his arm away from her.

Lucy looked at the man in shock. "There is a guy outside who's been beaten up and I need some help!" The bouncer gave no reply but turned away and spoke into his radio. "Hey! Did you hear me! The guy needs help!" She shouted over the noise of the club.

"This is your last warning miss. Stop this nonsense or I'll throw you out for causing a disturbance."

Lucy felt tears in her eyes and turned away quickly, how could this man be so stupid? No doubt he'd told been radioing his friends so she very much doubted she'd get any help from any of the other bouncers either. She made her way back outside, digging her phone out of her bag as she did so.

"999 emergency, which service do you require?" said the voice on the other end of the line.

"Ambulance. And someone strong they're going to need a hand." She said quickly as she made her way back to the dustbin.

"What is your location?"

"I'm at Fireflies, at the side entrance, down an alley onto Main Street." Lucy climbed onto the wheel of the bin and peered down onto the man inside, he hadn't moved and was now shivering in the cold November air.

"Ok, what's the situation?"

"A guy's been beaten up, it looks quite bad. And he's been dumped in one of the big industrial bins."

"Ok, an ambulance has been dispatched. What can you tell me about the casualty?"

"Not very much, I kinda saw what happened but I don't know him or anything."

"What about his injuries?" asked the operator.

Lucy paused, not believing what she was planning to do next. "Hang on." She said as she tucked her mobile into her bra, careful not to end the call, before dropping her bag, kicking her shoes off and pulling herself up and into the bin. She gagged slightly at the smell before retrieving the phone and talking to the detached voice on the other end. "He looks quite battered, he's bleeding from his head a bit."

A scream of sirens announced the arrival of the ambulance and soon two men in green paramedic uniforms jogged down the alleyway.

"In here." called Lucy, standing up so that she could be seen inside the bin.

"Alright darling. I'm Ben and this is James, what can you tell us about what happened?"

Lucy moved aside as James pulled himself into the bin and began assessing the injured man. "I kinda saw him being beaten up by three guys who chucked him in here before disappearing. There's no ID on him, he's semi-conscious, freezing cold and is bleeding from his head and seems to have abdominal pain as well."

"Ben, grab the stretcher and restraints." James called out of the bin then turned back to Lucy "Ok, you've done well. Have you moved him?"

Lucy shook her head, "I've hardly touched him, didn't want to make anything worse."

Ten minutes later and Lucy was helping move the man out of the bin before being helped out herself. As her feet touched the cold pavement she shivered, realising for the first time in a while just how cold she was. A green jacket was placed around her shoulders as she grabbed her shoes and bag and was guided towards the ambulance at the end of the alley. She stopped as a blue flashing on the ground caught her eye, a lost mobile phone, she quickly picked it up assuming it probably belonged to the injured man who was now in the back of the ambulance.


	3. Reuniting

**A/N:** Chapter 3 has arrived! I have very little idea where this is going to go so just hang on in there while I wing my way through various sections :)

I still have 2 standing tickets for sale for the 21/03/12 Southampton gig. I'm selling at face value! If you're interested then contact me on here, Twitter or SuperCity, all under the same username (I'm uninventive like that :) )

anyway, enjoy, NikkieSheepie

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><p><strong>Guardian Angel<strong>

Reuniting

Lucy had been dropped off at the hospital with the unknown man she'd seen being assaulted, after a quick check up and a cup of tea it was decided that she required nothing more than warming up, a bit of rest and some clean clothes. For the last 20 minutes she'd been sitting in the private waiting room waiting for the arrival of the police, dressed in a set of spare hospital scrubs. A text alert from her bag jolted her back into reality. It wasn't her text tone and besides, no-one would be texting her at this time of the morning, she'd already told her friends and family what was happening. She opened her bag, suddenly remembering the phone she'd picked up off the alley floor. 10 messages received and 6 missed calls, someone was trying to get hold of the injured guy. The phone began to ring again, 'Tom' was calling.

"Pick up the phone dammit!" muttered Tom as he waited for his call to be answered. This was the 7th time they'd tried to call him since he'd vanished just over an hour ago.

"Hello?" said a nervous female voice as the call was answered.

"Who is this?" he asked, confused as to why a girl would be answering the phone.

"I'm Lucy, Lucy Harwich."

Tom looked at his friends and mouthed 'Lucy' before returning his attention to Lucy, "Where's Dougie?" he asked, assuming he'd taken this girl to a hotel, it wouldn't be the first time.

"He's in the hospital. He was attacked, I called an ambulance..."

Tom cut her off. "Attacked?" He looked at his two companions, their faces showing their shock at the situation.

"Please, I'll explain everything. Just come to the hospital." replied Lucy.

"Ok, we're on our way." Said Tom as he ended the call. "Doug's been attacked, he's in the hospital with some girl called Lucy Harwich."

"Tell me you're joking." Said the shorter of his two companions, "This is a wind up right?"

Tom shook his head, "She sounded serious. Come on, we better get moving."

Arriving at the hospital Tom rushed inside to the reception desk while the other two sorted out the taxi fare. "My friend was brought in after a club fight. Dougie Poynter?"

The receptionist tapped at her computer before looking up again. "Sorry, there's no-one here under that name."

"Alright, what about the girl that came in with him. Lucy Harwich?"

The receptionist tapped away at her computer again, "She was seen to a little while ago, she's now waiting for the police I can get someone to take you to her if you like."

Tom tried not to sound too sarcastic as he replied. "That would be great."

"Tom? He here?" asked his companions as they joined him at the desk.

Tom shook his head. "No, well he's not registered on the system but if he lost his ID… That Lucy Harwich is here though, they're going to take us to her."

A porter arrived at that precise moment who guided them towards the private waiting room which was occupied by a single person, a young woman who was presumably Lucy Harwich.

"Lucy?" asked Tom as they entered the small room. Receiving a nod he introduced himself quickly. "I'm Tom, this is Danny and Harry. You called the ambulance for Dougie right? Is he ok?"

Lucy stood and walked over to the trio, holding out Dougie's phone to them. "The paramedics didn't say much and they won't really tell me anything because I'm not a relative. He took quite a beating but I dunno how much damage they did. Sorry."

Tom took the offered phone as Harry stepped forwards slightly. "You alright, you look a little pale…"

Lucy nodded, shrugging off the comment. "I kinda saw the guys who attacked your friend. They were fighting over a spilt drink I think."

"You mean, you saw the attack? You're a witness?" Danny asked uncertainly.

Lucy nodded again before swaying slightly. Harry moved forwards to hold her arm, "Let's sit you down before you fall down yeah?"

Lucy took the support she was offered and allowed herself to be guided to a nearby chair. "I should probably get something to eat," She said with a smile, "probably just low blood sugar or something."

A knock on the door heralded the arrival of two police officers. "Miss Harwich, we'd like to speak to you if that's alright." A pointed glance at Tom, Danny and Harry had them saying their goodbyes as they left to see Dougie with the promise of bringing some chocolate for Lucy once the police were finished with her.


	4. Familiar Faces

**A/N:** Chapter 4! Writing is going to be SLOW from now on I'm afraid, the uni work has really kicked in (and its only day 2!) so I don't really know what spare time is any more! Sorry about that, I'll do my best :)

The 2 standing tickets for the 21/03/12 Southampton gig are now on ebay. I've started the bidding at the face value of £60! If you're interested then contact me on here, Twitter or SuperCity, or search for me on ebay, all under the same username (I'm uninventive like that :) )

NikkieSheepie

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><p><span>Familiar Faces<span>

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Dougie's eyes flittered open slightly at the sound of voices coming closer. He tried to move his head to get a look around but found himself unable to do so. He panicked, forcing his eyes open, trying to find an explanation but all he could see was blinding white lights.

"He's been unconscious since he came in but maybe a friendly voice will bring him round. I'm afraid I can't give you too long, we're still waiting for test results and we don't want him getting stressed." Explained the nurse as she guided the worried group of friends into the room.

"He's gonna be alright though..?" asked Danny, looking worriedly at all the machines attached to Dougie. He looked like something out of Frankenstein with all those wires stuck to him.

The nurse smiled slightly, "Like I said, we're still waiting on the test results…" she broke off as the previously unconscious man began to struggle in his restraints, rushing to his side to try and hold him to the bed, the three men close behind her.

"Dougie, Dougie. Calm down mate." Said Danny desperately, leaning over his friends head so that he could be seen as well as heard. "It's alright, you're in the hospital."

Dougie could hear people talking, presumably to him but it was proving very difficult to understand, everything was fuzzy sounding, as if he was underwater. Someone was leaning over him, a mere silhouette against the bright white lights behind them while he was held down by at least three others.

"Can't you take the restraints off him?" groaned Tom and he forced Dougie's arms back against the bed.

"We don't know if he's suffered any spinal injuries." She replied, having less success at holding him down by the shoulders.

"Dougie! Mate! Calm down!" Danny repeated. He looked at Tom and Harry for support, "What do I say?"

"Anything!" groaned Harry as he struggled to hold Dougie's legs.

Danny took a deep breath, raised his voice and said very sternly. "Captain Dougwash! Calm down right now!"

Dougie stopped struggling as he heard his nickname, at least he thought he'd heard his nickname, and the voice sounded familiar as well. He blinked several times, trying to clear his vision. Maybe if he could see properly then things would make a bit more sense.

"Doug, relax yeah. Everything's gonna be alright." Was that Danny's voice? Things were beginning to sound a little less fuzzy.

"Danny?" he croaked, his throat and mouth dry.

"Yeah Doug. We're all here. You gotta relax, everything's all right." said Danny, "No more panicking."

"Okay." Dougie replied. It sounded more like a whimper than anything else as if a scared child was being told there were no monsters under the bed but not quite believing it. "What happened?"

The three friends looked at each other, not sure how to answer. "We don't really know mate." Said Tom eventually. "The police are looking into it, all the matters right now is that you get better."

"Police?" Dougie was confused, why were the police involved? Unless, he closed his eyes and sighed as the reality of what happened caught up with him.

"Yeah, erm, apparently you were attacked. We don't really know any more than that though." Explained Harry as he moved from the foot of the bed to stand alongside Tom.

Dougie opened his eyes again, "There was a girl…"

Tom nodded, "Yeah, her names Lucy. She called the ambulance for you and told us where to find you." He looked at the nurse, "Maybe we can bring her to see you in a while. When you're feeling a little better." The nurse nodded her approval. "It's not like you're going to lack female attention in here." He joked, patting Dougie's shoulder gently.

"Do you remember anything Doug?" asked Harry, gently.

"Not really." Replied Dougie uncertainly, "I remember going outside, and the girl but," he paused briefly, "no, that's about it really."

The nurse looked up from her notes as the phone on the wall rang. She spoke quickly into it, nodding at the answers and thanking the caller before making her way over to the group. "Good news is that there's no significant damage anywhere aside from a fracture in your left wrist so the restraints can come off. We'd like to keep you in for a while, just for observation because of your head injury, and you'll need to take it easy for a week or so."


	5. You Probably Know Us

**A/N:** I've only managed to write a little more but I didn't feel very nice leaving you all waiting for more so I've decided to update reasonably regularly until I run out of pre-written material. With any luck I'll keep a chapter ahead of updates... but like I've said before, uni is really sapping my time.

Just a reminder that the 2 standing tickets for the 21/03/12 Southampton gig are now on ebay. I've started the bidding at the face value of £60! If you're interested then contact me on here, Twitter or SuperCity, or search for me on ebay, all under the same username (I'm uninventive like that :) )

NikkieSheepie

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><p><span>You Probably Know Us<span>

Tom, Danny and Harry crept back into the private waiting room, careful not to disturb Lucy as she lay sleeping on the sofa opposite the door. Placing a bar of chocolate and a cup of tea down on the table next to her they sat at the other end of the room and spoke in whispers.

"Someone's gonna have to talk to the press," said Harry "we must have been recognised by now."

Tom nodded, "And try and keep her out of the spotlight as much as possible." Gesturing to the sleeping Lucy, "We're going to need her if the police manage to scrape a case together."

"When she wakes up we'll explain things to her. Let her sleep for now." Danny decided as he took a swig of his own tea. "Better let Dougie see her as well. You know what he's like."

Harry stifled a laugh and got a gentle punch from Tom. "That's not what he meant!" he chided gently.

For the next few minutes the three guys debated what they would do about the inevitable media storm over Dougie's admittance to hospital when Danny noticed Lucy stirring on the sofa. "Sleeping beauty awakens." He said with a smile, drawing the attention of his band mates away from their conversation. "Tea and chocolate as promised."

Lucy smiled as she rubbed sleep from her eyes, "How's Dougie?" she asked sleepily, reaching for the cup of tea to her right.

"He'll survive, fractured wrist and bruising but nothing more serious." Answered Harry, "He's been asking to see you. The nurse said once his meds have kicked in they'll send someone down, that is, if you want to go see him?"

Lucy nodded, "If he'll excuse the 'dragged through a hedge backwards' look then sure."

Tom cleared his throat quietly, "There's something we need to talk to you about first Lucy." Receiving a quizzical look from the young woman across the room he continued, "I guess it probably hasn't really occurred to you just yet but you probably know us."

Lucy blew on her tea as she considered Tom's statement, after a few seconds she stopped and stared. "Tom, Danny, Harry and Dougie. Jesus... you're kidding right?"

Danny shook his head. "Nope, we're three quarters of McFly, you helped out the fourth. The only problem with that is the press. Don't worry, we'll help you out, tell you what to say and when, guide you through the crush." He looked at Lucy's current attire and added with a smile, "And get you some clothes and makeup."

Having slapped on some basic make-up and now dressed in a more suitable pair of jeans and t-shirt, which had been collected by a rather star struck nurse finishing her shift, Lucy followed the nurse to the private room Dougie was in accompanied by Tom, Danny and Harry. Feeling incredibly nervous, wondering which whispers were about her, wondering what the media would have to say about her but strangely not about seeing Dougie, the apparently famous mystery man she'd 'saved' from a bin but had never told her his name.

As the door opened she suddenly realised she had no idea what to say. Partially due to who was in the bed, but also because most of the handsome face she was used to seeing smiling from photo's was bruised or covered in bandages.

Dougie smiled at her, one eye swollen half shut and Steri-Strips and dressings covering his forehead, nose and cheekbones. "It's not that bad. Honest, either that or the drugs are really good."

Lucy smiled a little before moving towards the side of the bed. "I think the drugs are pretty good in this place. You're looking better then when I last saw you at any rate."

"Yeah, about that, thanks for you know, sorting me out." Replied Dougie seriously causing Lucy to blush a little.

"It's alright, I couldn't just leave you could I?" she replied, trying desperately not to blush any more.

Dougie patted the chair next to his bed as an invitation for Lucy to sit and gave his band mates a meaningful glance which Harry caught, suddenly declaring that Tom needed to show him and Danny where the café was before leaving the room.


	6. McFly's Guardian Angel

**A/N:** For once I don't really have anything to write about aside from telling you what I should be doing (writing notes from my lecture on Blood Transfusion Therapy) and reminding you that I'm update this because I hate leaving you waiting for too long (that and I don't want to write up notes...)

The tickets I mentioned before have now sold. Still, if you want to find me on SC, Twitter or Tumblr then I am under the same username for everything, fell free to befriend/follow me on any of my accounts :)

NikkieSheepie

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><p><span>McFly's Guardian Angel<span>

Tom, Danny and Harry stood calmly outside the front entrance of the hospital with their manager, facing a crowd of reporters all shouting questions and taking photographs or filming them. A small group of the hospital's security team stood nearby and a temporary barrier had been erected as a boundary for the reporters.

The crowd fell silent as one of the group stepped forwards slightly, "Dougie has been admitted to hospital following an altercation in a nightclub last night. He has only sustained minor injuries, but will be kept in for an undecided length of time for monitoring." Explained Fletch succinctly.

There was a moments silence before the barrage of questions erupted again. Holding his hand up for silence Fletch continued, "We would like to publically thank Lucy for treating Dougie in the first instance, calling the emergency services and alerting the band."

"Dougie has asked that the hospital and ambulance staff also be thanked for their professional conduct and care." Added Danny, "Lucy has been invited to stay with Dougie throughout his recovery however it remains that her involvement is no more than a chance meeting."

"What was the fight about?"

"What nightclub was Dougie at?"  
>"Was Dougie alone at the night club?"<br>"How does Lucy feel about being involved -"

The shouts of reporters faded away as the group moved back inside and the sliding doors closed behind them.

"How'd it go?" asked Dougie as the press-survivors made their way back into his private room.

"Not too bad." Replied Danny, "They listened to Fletch and didn't round on Lucy's involvement too much. I guess now we'll just have to wait and see what they decide to print."

Fletch glanced at his watch, "Shoot, I better get going guys." He said apologetically, "Look after them." He added, motioning towards Dougie and Lucy before leaving the room.

"We better say something online before this all comes out in the press." Tom realised suddenly, "I'll stick something on twitter, it'll work its way round." He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and tapped away for a few minutes.

"_Just to let you know, the rumours are true. Dougie is in hospital but there are no serious injuries, he'll be back playing in no time."_

An awkward silence filled the room as Tom put his mobile away.

"Where are my grapes? I should have grapes." Said Dougie suddenly, sending the room into a laughing fit, only made worse by the serious yet cheeky grin on the face of the battered bassist.

_**McFly's Guardian Angel**_

_Dougie Poynter, bassist in the popular band McFly, has found himself in hospital after what has been described as an 'altercation in a nightclub'. His injuries are said to be non-serious although he is to be kept in hospital for observation for an undisclosed length of time._

_The details of what actually transpired during this altercation are still unknown, however a woman was mentioned before the camera's during the press conference with the remaining members of the band and their manager. She was described as being the first on the scene, alerting both the emergency services and the band to the incident, however it was stressed that it was nothing more than a chance meeting._

_It is obvious however that this woman, named as Lucy, has an important part to play in the events that transpired that night as she has been 'invited to stay with Dougie for the duration of his recovery.'_

_Whatever the case may be, it certainly looks as though the band have acquired a Guardian Angel in the form of Lucy._

Danny lowered the newspaper. "You know, that's not a bad report. And look, it's even a decent photo!"

Harry took the paper, glanced over the report and nodded. "For once they haven't made anything up to fill the gaps." He passed the paper on to Dougie who nodded his agreement before tossing it across the bed to Tom and going back to packing his few belongings into his rucksack and zipping it up.

A few minutes later and the band made for the staff entrance to the hospital and into the waiting car.


	7. Retelling the Story

**A/N:** Ok, this time I actually have a really good excuse for being so late in updating. I won't bore you with all the details but long story short I went to see Olly Murs at the O2 and when we came out London was white! When I say white I mean a good inch and a bit of snow on EVERYTHING! The trains stopped, the buses took ages to go anywhere and me and 5 others got stuck, totally and utterly stuck in London over night. Handily I had a friend willing to give us somewhere to stay for all of 3 hours or so before we grabbed the first train back to uni. All in all, I now totally HATE snow! (If you want to hear all the fun, fun details then I will happily rant them to you. :)  
>Other then that its been lots and lots of notes and a few arguments keeping me from writing.<p>

As always, if you want to find me on SC, Twitter or Tumblr then I am under the same username for everything, fell free to befriend/follow me on any of my accounts :)

NikkieSheepie

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><p><span>Chapter 7<span>

Lucy stepped out of the car and moved swiftly towards the front door of the house, keeping her back to the small gathering of press as much as possible. Before she'd even raised a hand to knock the door moved inwards and she was swept into the hall, the door closing quickly behind her.

"I don't know how you do it." She said simply as Tom took her coat from her, "All the press, all the time. It's madness out there!"

Tom smiled, "You get used to it. We hardly notice the camera's any more if I'm honest." He hooked her coat on a spare hook before motioning for her to follow him. "Everyone's in here, trying to work out what to do."

They entered the living room, a pair of cream sofas sat on either side of the room, Danny, Harry and Fletch on one and Dougie on the other. A woman with magnificently curled hair who left Lucy feeling as though she'd just rolled out of bed, smiled as she left the room towards the second door on the opposite side of the room.

"Obviously you know everyone here. That was my sister you just saw there, Carrie, she'll probably be floating around." Started Tom as he stood by Lucy's shoulder giving her some much needed moral support. "Anyway, take a seat and we'll talk you through the plans."

Lucy looked at the seating situation and figured that she was expected to sit next to Dougie who was looking a little less battered then when she last saw him in the hospital 2 days ago.

She sat down a little uncomfortably and Dougie immediately put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't be so worried, you're my Guardian Angel. Just think of this as us returning the favour." He smiled, leaving his arm draped around her shoulders as Tom sat next to her and Danny began explaining the plan.

"So the most important things are to keep you safe and out of the limelight. So far the press know you're called Lucy and that you were first person to find Dougie. We talked to the police and they think that while we have a witness the situation means that we can't expect to get much more of a conviction past drunk and disorderly, maybe assault."

"First things first though. We need to know exactly what you saw." Fletch said, leaning forwards towards Lucy, a pad of paper and pen in hand.

Lucy licked her lips nervously. "Well I was outside getting some air and was about to go back in when I heard angry voices coming out of the club so I hid behind one of the big industrial bins rather than meet them head on. I heard the three guys coming out, arguing with Dougie over what sounded like a spilt drink. They were saying stuff like 'this suit cost more then you're worth' while Dougie was trying to apologise and offering to buy them a drink each. I looked round the bin quickly and saw them forcing Doug into the wall before they started hitting him, even when he was on the floor and no moving much."

Dougie shook his head slightly, "I really don't remember much of this…" he said quietly, more to himself than anyone else.

Harry smiled reassuringly at Lucy and Dougie, "That's why we have Lucy. Please, continue."

"Well, they stopped hitting him after a while but then one of them decided that they should hide Dougie so they didn't get caught if anyone came out of the club after them. I was hiding back behind the bin so I dunno exactly what they did but I heard them shifting Dougie then a thunk as they put him in the bin and closed the lid. I thought they might have just shifted a bin in front of him so when they left I went to see if I could find him. I couldn't see him but when I called Doug must have kicked the bin or something. Damn near gave me a heart attack. I found him and went to get a bouncer but they ignored me." Lucy stopped for a second. "You know, he might have been in on it coz he threatened to have me thrown out when I didn't stop asking him for help."

Fletch, Tom, Harry and Danny all looked at each other with concerned expressions before Fletch wrote a few more notes down on his pad of paper. Dougie however was staring wide-eyed at Lucy as if he couldn't believe what she was telling them.

Noticing his reaction Lucy held the hand that dangled over her shoulder and smiled. "I went back out and called an ambulance for you. They asked me how bad you were hurt so I jumped into the bin to get a better look and waited until the paramedics arrived." She finished, directing the end of the story at Dougie who nodded slightly.

"I remember you sitting next to me, must have been then." He said quietly.

Lucy nodded, "You were in and out of consciousness."

What Dougie did next surprised everyone in the room. After a short pause he pulled Lucy into a hug whispered into her ear and kissed her full on the lips.

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><p><strong>AN:** I hope you enjoyed this instalment, unfortunately I haven't had the time to actually write any more but still, this is why I wanted to write a few chapters ahead of what I publish for you guys. This means there may be a few more long waits in store but hopefully I'll have a little more time not writing notes before long when I can write more of what I want to! :)


	8. Dogs and Cats

**A/N:** I feel bad for leaving you for so long without an update, therefore you are getting this update, and possibly one more if I can fit it in before my lectures start up again. Then I'm afraid you'll be back to waiting for me to find time between lectures and notes for updates. Sorry about that. :(

As always, if you want to find me on SC, Twitter or Tumblr then I am under the same username for everything (I know, I'm inventive...) so feel free to befriend/follow me on any of my accounts :)

NikkieSheepie

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 8<span>

Lucy allowed Dougie control as he pulled her close to him, "Thank you." He whispered simply before planting a kiss straight onto Lucy's surprised lips.

Lucy heard everyone in the room go silent as they presumably watched Dougie's sudden display of affection for her. After a few seconds she pulled gently away from Dougie, allowing him to continue to hold her close but far enough that she could look into his eyes, smiling, not having a clue what to say.

"Right," said Fletch suddenly, "I'm going to go make a call to the police and tell them what Lucy just told us." He stood and left the room without so much as a backwards glance.

Feeling the tension in the room Lucy asked for directions to the bathroom and gave the guys a little space.

"Doug…" said Danny simply.

Dougie lowered his eyes slightly, feeling like a naughty child being told off by his parents.

"You need to be careful Doug." added Harry. "She's a nice enough girl but consider her position. She happened to stumble across you, now she's caught up in a possible media storm of a court case, don't go rushing into things."

Dougie nodded slightly, picking nervously at one of the many scabs on his left lower arm, the right was covered by a generously doodled plaster cast which he was considering keeping as a souvenir.

Tom reached across and put a hand on Dougie's slumped shoulder, "Give it some time is all we're saying. Alright?"

Dougie nodded again, looking up from his now gently bleeding arm, "I know."

Lucy returned to the lounge, the atmosphere still a little tense as she sat back between Dougie and Tom. "I spotted one of your cats running off on the way back." She said to Tom to break the silence.

The four boys smiled as Lucy mentioned the cats. "The house is with infested with them." Laughed Danny, receiving a scowl from Tom.

"They're not an infestation." He said indignantly causing everyone to laugh. "What do you think Lucy? You got pets?"

"Well, I'm more of a dog person, but I've got nothing against them, my sister's cats are nice enough." She shrugged, "I've got my dogs Hamish and Julie sitting at home waiting for me."

"See, dogs wait for you, cats just bugger off." Danny said firmly, obviously proving a point in a long standing argument.

Tom scowled at Danny, "Just because Bruce and Ralphie wouldn't know how to feed themselves doesn't make them any better a pet."

Harry rolled his eyes and lent back in his chair while Dougie lent towards Lucy and said quietly, "Dogs are a real man's pet. Tom's just not a real man." Which caused Lucy to burst into laughter, catching the attention of the two men arguing across the lounge.

"Are you being rude about us again Dougie?" asked Danny with a sly grin.

Dougie shook his head, his face the picture of innocence. "No, of course not. What makes you think that?"

Tom rounded on Lucy, "Was he being rude? He's always being rude so don't try and defend him now Lucy…" he asked with a smile.

"What did they say?" Asked Harry suddenly, pushing himself forwards into a sitting position as Fletch entered the room.

Fletch's face was unreadable which made the band and Lucy all the more worried about the outcome of the phone call. "They reckon that the evidence from Lucy gives us a good standing, especially what you said about the bouncer. The only snag is that at the moment they can't track down the three guys. Provided they find them then we stand a good chance of a conviction."

All four members of McFly celebrated the news, Danny and Harry high fived, Tom punched the air and Dougie hugged Lucy.

"Of course, we won't ask you to do anything you don't want to do Lucy, but if you're happy to help us out…" added Fletch

"Of course I am!" said Lucy, cutting Fletch off mid-sentence as she rubbed her arm where Dougie had hit her with his cast during his enthusiastic, celebratory hug. "If I didn't want to help out I wouldn't be here. I'll talk to the police and wherever that takes us, I'll follow on."

Her declaration was met by five smiles, and a ginger cat landing on her lap.


	9. Guard Dogs

**A/N:** First of all, SORRY I haven't updated in soo long! Secondly, am I allowed to apologise again? I really am sorry, this just got a little forgotten. I haven't had time to write any more but lucky for you I had a few chapters written ready to be uploaded at times like this.  
>Hope I still have my readers and I hope you all enjoy this long awaited chapter :)<p>

As always, if you want to find me on SC, Twitter or Tumblr then I am under the same username for everything (I know, I'm inventive...) so feel free to befriend/follow me on any of my accounts :)

NikkieSheepie

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 9<span>

"Harry." Said Dougie as they lounged on Tom's sofa's. Lucy had gone home and everyone else was busy making phone calls, keeping promises or sorting out dinner so Dougie and Harry each had a sofa to themselves and they were making the most of it.

"Dougie." Answered Harry, he looked over to the other sofa at the mop of brown, blonde hair staring intently at the ceiling.

"What do you think of Lucy?"

Sensing a long conversation Harry rolled onto his side so he could see Dougie without straining his neck. "What do you mean?"

Dougie began to closely examine the 'art work' that covered his right forearm, obviously avoiding eye contact, "Just, what d'you think?"

Harry thought for a moment before answering, "She seems nice enough and I don't think she's just along for the ride. If you're worried how long she'll stick around then I reckon she'll do whatever we need her to, to get through this court case. After that, who knows." He watched Dougie closely, hoping to get a glimpse of a reaction. Since the attack Dougie had begun to hide more things. What things no-one really knew exactly, but aside from his emotional response to Lucy earlier in the day he'd been unusually quiet, almost broody.

Nodding Dougie stopped looking at his cast and turned to Harry. "That's good." He said simply.

"Doug, I know you like her, we all do, but you have to remember, she's a fan who's landed herself right in the middle of a media circus. Give it a while and see what happens." Dougie nodded and returned to examining his cast leaving Harry no wiser then he was before.

Lucy smiled as she approached her front door, she only lived in a tiny end of terrace, 2 bedded house but the noise which greeted her would make anybody think she had a pack of dogs in her house, rather than just her two German Shepherds Hamish and Julie.

As she opened the door she was greeted by two furiously wagging tails as they sniffed her legs where Tom's cats has rubbed themselves before she pushed them into the house. "Get off you two. You'd think you'd never smelt a cat before. Sheesh."

Once inside the house with the door firmly shut behind her Lucy flopped onto the couch and had all of 3 seconds before Julie climbed up next to her, begging for a cuddle. "You know, I got you two for protection. You'd just lick a burglar to death wouldn't you." She joked as she ruffled Julie's ears.

Two hours later after Lucy had fed herself and the dogs her mobile phone rang, displaying an unknown number. She answered hesitantly, expecting it to be a sales person trying to get her to change her internet provider or something ridiculous. Instead she found herself looking towards her locked front door while reaching out for the comforting feel of her two dogs as they lay peacefully on the floor.

"Miss Harwich." Said the detached voice on the phone "You best be careful. I suggest you do not contact Mr Poynter again." The line went dead.

Seconds later Lucy was back on the phone, this time calling Dougie.

"Lucy, hi." Said Dougie as the answered, the smile in his voice obvious.

"Dougie, they know who I am. They just called me and told me not to contact you again, and I dunno what to do." She gushed all in one breath.


	10. Saint Kidd

Sorry guys, I promise I'll do a real update in the next few days.

Anyways, assuming all you readers like McFly I just wanted to offer you the chance to add your name to the Saint Kidd email list.

This is Dougies new clothing line which should be launching any time soon. If you're on twitter you would have no doubt seen the comments about it being launched the other day… then the website crashing… so it's going to be re-launched!

Being Dougie it's not just normal t-shirts and the like, everything has a pirates twist to it, definitely worth a look at least! Initial stock is VERY limited so these emails could be the difference between getting that cool t-shirt or not!

All you need to do is send me a private message (either on here or twitter under the same username NikkieSheepie) with your name and email address.

You have until approx. 9pm on 11/04/2012 until I send my mailing list off

Nikkie


	11. All Saints Road

**A/N:** Hopefully I'm going to be getting back to more regular updates now, however, as usual I offer no promises. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter and please review to tell me what you think :)

As always, if you want to find me on SC, Twitter or Tumblr then I am under the same username for everything (I know, I'm inventive...) so feel free to befriend/follow me on any of my accounts :)

NikkieSheepie

* * *

><p><span>All Saints Road<span>

"Guys! Guys! We have a problem!" shouted Dougie as he ran full pelt into the Tom's living room, his phone to his ear. "They know about Lucy!"

"What? Who?" asked Harry, more than a little confused.

"Them, whoever beat me up. They just called Lucy and told her not to speak to me again." replied Dougie, placing his phone on the coffee table and pressing speaker.

"How did they get her phone number?" asked Harry, receiving a collection of blank faces in answer.

Danny lent towards the phone, "You alright Lucy?" he asked, picking up on the scared woman's heavy breathing. "Did they threaten you or anything?"

"No, they literally just told me not to contact Dougie again. They knew my name and everything…" replied Lucy.

Dougie looked to his bandmates, "Surely the fact that they called her at all counts as a threat." Sounding more indignant then he'd intended.

"I don't suppose there was a caller ID?" asked Tom. He knew it was a slim chance but sometimes you never know what would get forgotten.

"No, it was withheld." She replied. In the moment's silence that followed the band heard Lucy's doorbell ring, followed by her two dogs she mentioned earlier barking.

"Don't answer it." Said Dougie quickly, "I'm coming round. I'll call you when I'm outside."

Harry stood up and placed a hand on Dougie's shoulder as he cancelled the call and stuffed his phone in his pocket. "Doug, you can't drive with a broken wrist."

"Well you drive then." He said simply as me shrugged off Harry's hand and headed for the front door. Harry looked at Danny and Tom before shrugging and following Dougie.

Lucy didn't even look out of the window to see who was at the door. She hadn't ordered anything and anyone coming to visit her could call her if they wanted to speak to her. She sat on the sofa with Hamish and Julie on high alert as they picked up her nervousness, waiting for Dougie to call her when he arrived outside.

The bell rang three more times after Dougie had ended the call, each time setting her two guardians into a new barking frenzy. After what felt like a life time her phone rang, without checking the display she answered it, instantly regretting it as she heard, rather than Dougie's familiar voice, the gruff voice of a strange man, the same man who had called her telling her not to call Dougie again.

"I know you called him, I thought I told you not to."

Lucy sat frozen with fear, finally she found her voice, "Leave me alone."

"You better start listening to what we tell you to do." Said the voice again.

"Who…who are you?"

There was no reply as the line went dead. Lucy sat in a shocked silence, Julie's cream body pressed to her side while Hamish's darker form paced the room, pausing every time he reached the door or window

Harry pulled to the side of the road rather abruptly as he turned into Lucy's street, silencing Dougie's protests with his raised hand as he watched a shadowed figure moving away from one of the houses further down. Dougie quickly realised what he was doing and squinted into the darkness in the same direction.

"That could be Lucy's house. It's the end of the terrace, and that side of the street are all odd numbers." Muttered Dougie.

Harry nodded, following the movement of the man as he reached a car parked a little further away, started the engine and pulled away. "CA09 KMN" he said as the car pulled away. "Looks like a dark coloured merc maybe? I can't quite tell."

Dougie fumbled with the glove box, grabbing the note pad and pen Harry always kept there and scribbled down what he had said. His handwriting was appalling but the most important thing was that they had a number plate

Harry waited a few minutes before pulling back out into the road and continuing towards Lucy's house, 53 All Saints Road. As they drew level with the house they had been watching the two men exchanged worried looks, it was number 53, Lucy's house.

Dougie scrolled to Lucy's number and pressed dial, she answered on the second ring, "Lucy, me and Harry are outside. You alright?" he heard her take a shaky breath before replying. Dougie and Harry headed for the house after a short conversation and where quickly whisked indoors, each greeted with a relieved hug.


	12. Shakespeare

**A/N:** I don't even know how long its been since I updated! As such I will do a bit of a bulk upload to make up for it! I'm spending the day trying desperately to finish the story (so I can start work on the next one which is floating around my brain) and will upload a chapter every few hours to make up for my rubbish updating!

As always, if you want to find me on SC, Twitter or Tumblr then I am under the same username for everything (I know, I'm inventive...) so feel free to befriend/follow me on any of my accounts :)

NikkieSheepie

* * *

><p><span>Shakespeare<span>

Harry looked towards the closed door heading to what he assumed was the living room as he heard a low growl. "Lucy…" he said warily, "Your dogs don't seem to like us…"

Lucy detached herself from a suddenly very protective Dougie and smiled shyly. "Yeah, wait here a second." She said, putting her hand on the door handle before turning back quickly, "Oh, and don't say the word Shakespeare around Hamish" she whispered before slipping into the room and closing the door behind her.

Dougie and Harry looked at each other, "Shakespeare?" mouthed Dougie to which Harry replied with a shrug.

A few moments later Lucy opened the door to the living room, a German Shepherd on either side. "Dougie, Harry. This is Julie and Hamish" she said, motioning to the white dog on her left and then the dark tan dog on her right. "They're a little hyped up at the moment, what with someone being at the door and all but they'll be fine with you."

The two guys smiled as they introduced themselves to the dogs, Harry slowly extending his hand towards Hamish while Dougie made friends with Julie.

"Julie, Hamish, in." Said Lucy before ushering Harry and Dougie into her living room. "Thanks for coming over, honestly it means a lot." She looked at her feet as she blushed a little, suddenly unsure of herself.

"It's not a problem." Said Harry, "In actual fact, it might just be that we have a number plate which could get us some names."

Lucy's face lit up, "Really?"

Dougie knelt down to stroke Julie as he elaborated, "Yeah some guy left your house and drove off just as we got here. Unless he was a neighbour I think we got our man."

Lucy shook her head, partially in answer to Harry's question about the man at the door being a neighbour but partly in disbelief that they had something, no matter how tenuous to follow up. Harry pulled out his phone and moved to the other side of the room while Dougie and Lucy stood in a slightly awkward silence.

"So, what's with Hamish and that specific guy you told us not to mention? The one that wrote all the boring plays you're forced to study at school." Asked Dougie as he bent down to ruffle Julies ears.

"He used to be a working dog, one of my friend's brothers worked him in the police and that was his trigger word. Then he they found out he was epileptic and they had to get rid of him. Most of the time their handlers keep them but because of his age it wasn't fair to keep him and get a new dog to work so I offered to take him." Lucy explained, glad for something to talk about.

Dougie's eyes lit up. "He's an attack dog? That's awesome! So if I said that guy's name to him he'd eat anyone I told him to?"

Lucy laughed a little, "Sort of, just less of the eating though, he's trained to drag people to the floor and keep them there." Catching Dougie's eyes shift slyly towards Harry she frowned slightly, "No, you can't ask him to 'get' Harry, he'll damn near rip his arm off. Then who'll do the drumming?"

"Damn, you've seen through my cunning plan." Dougie cursed, punching his leg in mock annoyance before cringing as he remembered the cast. "That'll leave a bruise." He grumbled, rubbing his thigh before letting out a less then manly squeak as Julie gave him a wet dog kiss up the side of his face.

Lucy practically doubled over in laughter as Dougie wiped his face clean of dog slobber. "I think she likes you, it's either that or she wondered what you tasted like."

"Good news." Beamed Harry as he slid his mobile back into his pocket. "That number plate is registered to a guy who the police have investigated for assault several times but haven't ever had any evidence to make anything stick, until now. Looks like he just shot himself in the foot."


	13. Late

**A/N:** Here is the second of many updates today. You never know, at the rate I'm writing I might well finish tonight :)

As always, if you want to find me on SC, Twitter or Tumblr then I am under the same username for everything (I know, I'm inventive...) so feel free to befriend/follow me on any of my accounts :)

NikkieSheepie

* * *

><p><span>Late<span>

_Three weeks later_

Lucy got up off the sofa where she'd been watching the evening news, untangling her legs from the blanket and went to the door where someone was impatiently ringing the doorbell. "I'm coming!" she yelled, "Keep your hair on!" Unlocking the door she opened it a crack and was met with the sight of three men standing expectantly on her doorstep.

"Miss Harwich?" one asked, his eyes burning into hers.

She held his gaze, "Who's asking?" she replied, not liking the look of this one bit, thinking about her two dogs laying obediently by the sofa, waiting for her return.

Lucy never got a reply as the door was slammed open, nearly hitting her in the face. She made a run for it, heading for the kitchen and the back door. She didn't have a plan really, either grab one of the big kitchen knives or run out the back and down the side of the house, or both. Unfortunately the three men were faster and stronger than her and within a few meters they had slammed her against the wall and were snarling in her face.

"You're not going to court tomorrow, understand?" snarled the man holding her against the wall.

One of the men gave a startled cry as Julie bit into his calf, dragging him to the floor. The other two men looked around and spotted the two dogs, Julie standing over the man on the floor menacingly, Hamish snarling at the two remaining men.

"I'll sort her out, you keep the mutts occupied." ordered the man holding her. Ignoring the worried look on the faces of his companions as they contemplated their task he dragged Lucy upstairs and into her bedroom, closing the door behind him.

What happened next was all a bit of a blur for Lucy. She remembered trying to fight off the man as he began hitting her, hearing the commotion her dogs were causing downstairs, being hit some more and then having her hands tied to the base of her bed by her dressing gown tie and scarf. The man gave her one last whack around the head which sent the word spinning before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

_The next morning, 9.30am_

"Where is she?" Tom asked Danny for the fourth time.

"I dunno mate. She said she'd be here for the hearing, she wouldn't let Doug down now." Replied Danny, glancing at his band mate who still bore the bruises from a few weeks ago as he spoke. "She knows she's the only witness we've got. She'll be here."

Tom looked at his watch. "Yeah well, she's cutting it a little fine, we've got an hour before we go in."

Danny excused himself from the conversation and moved towards Harry, a quick, hushed conversation later and Danny walked back towards Tom, pulling his car keys out of his pocket. "Harry's going to cover us for as long as we can. Let's go find Lucy."

Danny rang the doorbell to Lucy's small, end of terrace house. Receiving no answer but the barking of the dogs he rang it again before knocking loudly on the door. "Lucy?" He called between knocks. "Lucy? You here?"

Tom stepped gingerly over the flowerbed to look through the living room window. "Dan." He said, unsure of what to make of the scene before him. "Have a look here."

Looking into the house Danny could see exactly what Tom was worried about. The TV was on but Lucy was nowhere to be seen, a blanket left half on and half off the sofa. Admittedly there was nothing particularly suspicious about that, however looking round to the right something was shimmering in the carpet under the paws of Hamish and Julie, reflecting the light from the TV. Dirty footprints had soiled the cream carpet through much of the ground floor and up the stairs, footprints that where far too large for Lucy's dainty feet to have created.

Danny jumped back across the flower bed to the door, hammering against it calling Lucy's name. Tom grabbed his mobile out of his pocket and started to dial. "Whoa, who you calling?" asked Danny.

"Lucy, if she doesn't answer then I'd bet there's something wrong." Replied Tom as he hit dial. "Come on Lucy…" he muttered as he waited.

Danny hushed Tom quickly, he could have sworn he heard something from inside the house. "Lucy? It's Danny, open the door yeah?" he shouted through the letter box.

Lucy woke to the sound of someone hammering urgently on the door. As she moved to open the door she remembered the night before and winced in pain as her restraints cut into her wrists.

She heard her mobile ringing from downstairs, "Hello?" she called as she strained against her restraints. There was silence as her phone stopped ringing before she heard the letter box rattle and a voice drifted up the stairs. "Danny? Danny, help, please!" she called, her voice cracking as tears of relief and pain beginning to run down her face.


	14. Breaking In

**A/N: **There's not much for me to say here but that i hope you enjoy the third of today's updates. Also, I appologise for the lack of breaks in the text recently, I've just noticed that the system will not accept my usual three star breaks, sorry :(

As always, if you want to find me on SC, Twitter or Tumblr then I am under the same username for everything (I know, I'm inventive...) so feel free to befriend/follow me on any of my accounts :)

NikkieSheepie

* * *

><p><span>Breaking In<span>

"Lucy? You alright in there?" Yelled Danny as Tom joined him at the letter box. Whatever reply Lucy might have given was drowned out by the two German Shepherds barking madly at the door. "Lucy, call the dogs off. They're going mad at the door!" he looked to Tom, "You've got a spare key right?"

Tom reached into his jacket pocket, hoping that he had in fact left Lucy's spare key in there. "I must have taken it out yesterday." He said reluctantly. "I'll try round the back, she might have left the door unlocked." With that he jogged down the side of the house, vaulted over the small gate and made for the back door.

"Hamish, Julie, calm down guys…" cooed Danny through the letter box, hoping that Tom wouldn't get eaten if he did manage to get in the back of the house. He watched through the letter box as the two Shepherds spun round, presumably at the sound of Tom trying the back door. "It's alright, it's only Tom. Please don't eat him."

McMcMc

After vaulting the gate into the back garden Tom made for the door, gently pushing the handle down and opening the door. He let out the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding as the door opened.

The noise of Lucy's two dogs at the front door had stopped, so either Lucy or Danny had calmed them, or they were heading straight for him. 'Why couldn't she have a pair of Westies?' he thought to himself as they appeared around the corner, their eyes fixed unwaveringly at him. "Hi guys. I'm here to help your mum alright. I'm not going to hurt you." He said gently as he gingerly held his hand out to them.

McMcMc

Danny was crouched on the door step, looking expectantly through the letter box when he heard a shout from across the road. "Oi, you there! What do you think you're doing!" demanded a well-built man in his early forties as he marched across the road. "I've been watching you, you trying to break in or something?"

Danny stood and turned around to face the man as he reached the pavement and proceeded to march straight up to him. "No mate. We're trying to get in." Danny suddenly realised how that sounded, "I mean, we're friends of Lucy, we think she's had an accident and we don't have a key." Said Danny, trying to explain the admittedly very strange seeming situation.

"Yeah, and I'm the queen of Sheba." Answered the man sarcastically. "Now shift, before I call the police on you." He threatened as he produced his mobile phone from his pocket.

"Fine, call the police." Replied Danny angrily. "But make sure you tell them that Lucy is late for an important engagement which she wouldn't miss, isn't answering her phone, her house is trashed, the dogs are going mental and she's calling for help." He smiled, "Is that alright your majesty?"

McMcMc

Tom gave each of the dogs a quick pat as they each sniffed his hand in turn. They allowed him past, Julie following closely at his heels while Hamish investigated the garden, his hackles raised as he sniffed every inch of the fence, when he finished he announced his presence with a series of deafening barks before following Tom and Julie back into the house.

"Lu, it's alright. I'll be with you in a second." He called, as he opened the front door to Danny who was ending an apparently heated conversation with a well built, presumably concerned neighbour.

"Maybe you best call the police anyway…" said Danny as he looked into the house and spotted a large red-brown stain on the carpet by the door to the living room. "Where's Lucy?" he asked Tom urgently.

Tom shook his head, "Must be upstairs. Julie and Hamish seem fine but just take it slow around them." He warned Danny and the man who was now on the phone as he began moving upstairs. He reached the upstairs landing and followed the dirty boot prints to the master bedroom.

McMcMc

Lucy sobbed uncontrollably as the door opened to reveal Tom and Danny's shocked faces, as Tom wrapped his arms around her protectively she found herself apologising. "I'm sorry… I couldn't…" she stuttered between sobs.

"You've got nothing to apologise for." Said Tom gently as Danny fumbled with the knots in the dressing gown tie holding Lucy to the foot of her bed.

"They were stronger than me, I tried to fight them off, and Julie and Hamish bit one of them…" Rambled Lucy through her tears as Tom held her close, stroking her hair soothingly.

"Shh, it's alright, we've got you." Cooed Tom as he looked questioningly at Danny who was still struggling with the knots holding Lucy's arms behind her back.


	15. Refusal

**A/N: **The fourth update for today. This story has decided to run away and write itself, so far I'm up to chapter 19 and the end is only just beginning to reveal itself...

As always, if you want to find me on SC, Twitter or Tumblr then I am under the same username for everything (I know, I'm inventive...) so feel free to befriend/follow me on any of my accounts :)

NikkieSheepie

* * *

><p><span>Refusal<span>

The police arrived at Lucy's house not 10 minutes after being called. The concerned neighbour who had introduced himself as Liam Garner directed the two officers upstairs before turning his attention to the still anxious pair of dogs he had confined to the living room. "Tell Lucy I'll sort her dogs out for her." He said as the pair of coppers headed upstairs.

"Hello?" said the first officer as he reached the top of the stairs and moved towards the master bedroom.

Danny moved from Lucy' side, leaving her in Tom's arms to greet the police officers. "We found her tied to the base of the bed, I had to cut the ties to get her loose." The officers nodded and took in the scene as Danny slipped outside the room and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

McMcMc

Harry grabbed for his pocket as his phone began to ring. Dougie had noticed Tom and Danny's absence and was beginning to panic as the time for the trial about his attack grew closer. "Danny? What the heck is going on? Where are you? They want everyone inside in 15 minutes!"

"They got to Lucy." Replied Danny seriously. "They must have gotten into her house last night and beat her up. The dogs put up a fight but it looks like they over-powered her and then tied her up in the bedroom."

Harry's mouth hung open. "Is she alright?"

"She's pretty battered. The police are here and are talking to her but I dunno what sort of state she'll be in. You're gonna have to try and talk to someone in charge, get the hearing postponed. And tell Dougie…"

"This is a disaster." Groaned Harry. "What am I going to tell Dougie?"

"What are you going to tell me about what?" demanded Dougie from behind Harry, making him jump, "Tell me what Harry?" he repeated, more forcefully.

McMcMc

"Right Lucy, we need to get you to the hospital and get you checked out." Said one of the officers after questioning Lucy about what had happened.

Lucy shook her head. "I've got to get to the trial. I'm not going to let them stop me." She said, wincing as she went to push herself up off the floor.

"No way," said Tom, "Not in this state!"

"Yes way. Yes in this state." She replied defiantly, "If we can get them locked up then this won't happen again. If we wait then who knows what will happen next time!" Lucy pushed herself off the floor, balancing herself first on Tom's shoulder, then the post at the base of her bed. "I hope you're not going to make me drive myself there…" she said, clutching onto the post as the world began to spin uncontrollably. "Let me do the trial, then I will go to hospital. Not before."

"Lucy," said Tom gently, "It starts in 5 minutes. We can't get there in time."

"If the police are here then so is a police car with flashing blue lights on top." She said simply as she grabbed her jacket from the foot of the bed and wobbled towards the door, stumbling as she reached the hall.

McMcMc

Dougie, Harry and their small group gathered outside the court house watched as the police car pulled up at the side of the road, sirens and lights blaring. They sprung into action as Tom jumped out of the passenger door and yelled up to them. "The hearing's on, get people inside!"

Lucy walked into the room, supported by Tom and Danny, the police officer followed behind and headed towards the judge, engaged in a short, hushed conversation before smiling at Lucy and leaving the room. All eyes turned to Lucy, faces showing a mixture of relief, shock and outright disgust at her battered state. For a few moments no-one said anything, then the whispering started.


	16. Trial

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait again, as usual life has gotten in the way. I will warn you now that I have exams coming up in the near future and so really shouldn't procrastinate with writing this, you'll probably get at least one update though...  
>Also, I have no idea how a court case works... Hopefully this is at least half way accurate... Artisit licence, yeah, go with that...<p>

As always, if you want to find me on SC, Twitter or Tumblr then I am under the same username for everything (I know, I'm inventive...) so feel free to befriend/follow me on any of my accounts :)

NikkieSheepie

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><p><span>Trial<span>

Tom and Danny guided Lucy to her seat before moving away to their designated positions. "Are you alright?" asked a worried Dougie, his face pale as he looked at Lucy, taking in her battered face and arms, pained expression and most worryingly her inability to hold herself steady.

Lucy nodded slightly, "I'm not letting you down now."

"Miss Harwich, are you sure you are in a fit state to attend this trial?" asked the judge, his worry obvious. "These are exceptional circumstances and this can be rearranged until you are well enough."

"I'm fine Your Honor, please, begin." Replied Lucy as Dougie gently took her right hand in his left.

"Very well. Let us begin."

McMcMc

The hearing had been running smoothly for an hour and a half with every statement and example of evidence giving more power to Dougie's position when Lucy was called forwards to make her statement. After being helped to the witness area the questioning began.

"Please confirm your name and date of birth for the record."

"Lucy Sophia Harwich, 19th October, 1990" replied Lucy before taking a painful breath.

"Thank you. Now, it is understood that you were the only witness to the attack on Dougie Poynter on the morning of 6th November. Can you please tell us what you saw."

"Well I didn't see everything. I was hiding behind an industrial bin after hearing the angry voices coming towards me. I was on my own and didn't want to get involved in a fight or anything." Began Lucy, "I heard 3 men arguing with Dougie and looked out from where I was hiding and saw them forcing him into a corner before they started hitting him. I hid again until they had gone before going to find Dougie."

Lucy's questioner nodded, "And what where they saying?"

"They were arguing over a spilt drink. Dougie was trying to apologise and offering them a drink each but the men wouldn't stand for it."

"And what did they do after attacking Mr Poynter?"

"They hid him inside an industrial bin so that people wouldn't see him and link them to the attack." said Lucy as she held the ribs on the left side of her chest.

"Thank you Lucy, now as we have heard, you have been harassed since the attack with phone calls and strangers at your door. However, can you please tell us what happened to you last night which has left you in this state?"

It appeared as though the courtroom was holding its breath.

"I was home alone when there was a knock at the door..." began Lucy before she was interrupted.

"Sorry, what time would you say this was?" asked the lawyer.

Lucy thought for a second, swaying slightly as she done so, "Must have been around ten, I was watching the late news."

The lawyer nodded, "Thank you, please continue."

"There was a knock at the door so I went to the door and opened it a little and three men forced their way in. I tried to run out the back but they caught me." Lucy choked on her words and had to take three painful, shaky breaths before continuing, "My dogs pulled down one man but I was taken upstairs and beat up by another before he tied me to the bed and hit me again. I must have passed out because next thing I knew Danny and Tom where at the door."

There was silence for a few moments while the room digested this information.

"Did they say anything?"

Lucy nodded and instantly regretted it, clutching at the rail beside her to stop herself falling from her chair. "They asked my name before barging in then said 'you won't be going to court tomorrow' before they beat me up."

"So the attackers clearly had knowledge of this trial today?"

"Yes." Replied Lucy, clutching at her side ever tighter.

The attention turned from her as the lawyer began to address the judge and jury, filling in Lucy's story with further evidence.

Lucy could feel the colour draining from her face as the world began to spin more and more. She couldn't focus on Dougie's face anymore, the only thing that had been keeping her going. Clutching at the rail beside her she tried to get someone's attention, "I can't breathe." She said quietly, "please, I can't breathe."

Lucy gasped for air for another few seconds before falling sideways off her chair as she passed out.

McMcMc

Everyone watched as Lucy's evidence was weaved into the rest of the supporting evidence, each individual statement linking to a piece of CCTV footage or the police report from the scene or another person's account. Dougie looked from his entrancing lawyer to smile at Lucy, to show his appreciation and support but instead of seeing the determined face he was used to, he caught the whisper on her lips.

"Your Honor!" he exclaimed, jumping up from his chair and pointing at Lucy as she swayed on her chair before falling to the floor.


End file.
